I am a workaholic. Most days there is nothing I’d rather do than sitting at my desk and draft up another blog post, find cool pieces of clothing to recommend to my audience or record a podcast. But lately, I’ve been feeling motivated—and I know I’m not the only one who feels this way.
I don’t know about you, but staying focused is imperative to my job. But the world is so weird right now that it’s really hard to keep your mind on the task at hand. We’re all feeling more stressed out than usual, so here are a few things that I do to keep my mind focused:
Take Actual Breaks
Breaks are absolutely necessary but occasionally we forget that we need them. It gets worse when we’re feeling unmotivated because we feel like we haven’t done anything (we probably haven’t) and we tell ourselves we don’t deserve a break. We just keep on trucking, which only makes things considerably worse.
So, in times like these, I make a point of taking real, honest breaks, whether I think I deserve them or not. If you’re feeling particularly bad about them, throw a 15-minute break into your calendar a few times a day and treat them like any other appointment. You honestly need to take a break otherwise you’ll end up staring at your computer, frustrated, and produce crappy work. No one needs that.
Get Up on Your Feet
I am lucky enough that I work at home all the time, therefore I have a genuine office with a convertible desk. That means that when I need to get up off my butt, I can simply raise my desk. But not everyone has the same opportunity as me.
You can combine getting on your feet and taking breaks by scheduling yourself a walk once or twice per day. I get the whole not wanting to step away from your desk for that long, but since the gym is currently out this is a great alternative. When I’m feeling particularly bad, I schedule two walks a day—one in the morning and one in the afternoon—to switch up my day.
Set Limits
I can easily spend 12 or more hours tapping away at my computer in one day. This gets worse when I’m feeling unfocused because I convince myself that I need to be there longer because I’ve done less work. But that is most certainly not the case, and when it comes to times like that it turns out that you need to set limits.
So, I decide when I’m going to work and when I’m going to be done and I take a step back—no exceptions. Getting good rest, not just sleep but also overall relaxation and enjoyment. You get that by setting limits and taking them seriously.
How do you stay focused when you want to do anything but work? Share your thoughts in the comments below!
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Tae started out as a journalist before following the money into the corporate world. But it turns out that the grass isn’t always greener and now you can find her spending most of her time writing about all the things she loves. Namely, money, travel and business with a hefty dose of self-deprecating humor. She is a podcast fanatic, blogging aficionado and loves to find new ways to turn passions into cold hard cash!